Long Term Care
A set of health care, personal care and social services required by persons who have lost, or never acquired, some degree of functional capacity in an institution or at home, on a long-term basis. The term is often used more narrowly to refer only to long-term institutional care such as that provided in nursing homes, homes for the retarded and mental hospitals. Ambulatory services such as home health care and assisted living, which can also be provided on a long-term basis, are seen as alternatives to long-term institutional care.
